Civil Rights: Equality for the Red Man

Many of the most important Supreme Court decisions in recent years
have afforded minority groups, particularly Negroes, new constitutional
protections. Effective as they may have been, the high-court rulings have
resulted in precious little improvement for one sizable minority groupthe
American Indian.

Hindering the Indian's rise to legal equality are many factors, among
them Indian ignorance of the law, lethargy, and a reluctance to be
completely assimilated by 20th century white society. But the most
significant reason is the special status enjoyedand sufferedby
370,000 reservation Indians. Although these Indians have been U.S....